Congrats on Not Being Dead
by KaitieD
Summary: Tony bought Coulson Lola as a "Congrats on Not Being Dead" gift.


Stuffing the last item of clothing into the duffel bag and zipping it closed, Phil sighed and took one last look around the room. He's spent far too long staring at the blank, beige walls and wishing he was anywhere else. He couldn't wait to leave, but he knew he'd be lying if he said he wasn't a little nervous to be returning to the real world.

It'd been weeks since the attack on New York and reports of his death had been greatly exaggerated. Or maybe not, since he had actually been dead for a little bit, but here he was, alive and mostly well. Shortly after the battle, when things had calmed a bit, Fury broke the news to the Avengers about him actually being alive, and he'd been happy to receive the stream of visitors that came to see for themselves.

Eventually though, everyone had to get back to their lives. Thor went home to deal with his brother, Barton, Romanoff, and Cap were sent off on SHIELD missions, Banner did his best to disappear off the radar, and Stark went back to being a pain in everyone's ass. Left alone with nothing to do but recuperate, it was a long, long number of weeks before the SHIELD medical team finally cleared him to leave.

Throwing the bag over his shoulder, Phil felt the slightest twinge in his chest, but ignored it and headed for the door. Saying his goodbyes and thanking everyone for what they'd done, he slowly made his way to the elevator and down to the lobby where he was supposed to meet an agent that would give him a lift home. Instead, to his surprise, Tony Stark stood there with a suspicious grin on his face. Nothing good ever came from Tony looking that happy, Phil knew.

"So you're officially not going to die on us, huh?" Tony called out in greeting.

"Yeah well, I couldn't rest in peace with all of you running rampant around the city, now could I?"

"I guess not. Last time I saw you, still looked like it could have gone either way" he joked, shaking Phil's hand.

"Thanks. So to what do I owe the pleasure of your presence?" Phil asked, figuring he should get right to the point. Though he felt as good as he had in a while, just being up and out of bed was proving to be tiring.

"Well, Pepper mentioned that they were finally letting you go today and I just thought I'd swing by and celebrate the big day with you."

Walking towards the large glass doors of the entrance, Phil just looked over and quirked an eyebrow skeptically in response.

"It's true!" Tony said defensively. "I know I may not be the most cooperative person you've worked with, but it hasn't been all bad, has it? And you and Pep are friends, which makes us…like friends."

"Uh-huh."

"Fine then, if you don't want your gift, I'll just take it back with me."

Well that definitely got Phil's attention. Tony never did anything on a small scale, so he could only imagine what the inventor came up with as a good gift for him.

"You got me a gift?"

"Yeah, just a little 'Congrats on not being dead' gift" Tony said. "So you know we're all glad you're still around, you know."

Phil was surprised and a little touched by the apparent genuineness. Though their relationship had been rocky, he always thought that Tony was a good guy and he and Pepper had become good friends since they'd met.

"Ok, so what is it?"

"Voila!" Tony cried, gesturing with arms wide as they walked out the front drive curving around the entrance.

Phil's jaw dropped at the sight of the car sitting at the curb. If he was correct, it was a 1962 Chevy Corvette. This was so far beyond anything he had expected. It was beautiful.

"Tony…" he managed to get out, speechless.

"I take it you like it then?"

"How could I not" he said softly, running a hand along the hood.

"It's not just any old car though" Tony continued, "It's had a few…modifications, thanks to Stark Industries and some designs of my dad's."

"Like what?" Phil asked, unsure of whether that was a good thing or not. Stark had made countless amazing things, but there had been more than a few that blew up, literally, in his face.

Climbing in and reaching over to open the passenger door for Phil, Tony just said "Hop in and I'll show you the basics."

As they sped off, Tony looked over with and saw the grin on Phil's face and the wind whipped around them.

"Oh, by the way, her name's Lola."


End file.
